Messy and Picky

We have been hearing great things about Morning Glory ever since we moved to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, we are slow moving late sleepers on weekends and everytime we got our act together enough to try to go to brunch at Morning Glory, there was always a significant wait time. Thankfully, a visit from KT promted us to arise early enough to get there at a decent brunch hour. Our wait on a Sunday at about 10.45 a.m. was, miraculously, not too bad — about 20 minutes. There were five parties ahead of our party of five, but we must have gotten there just before the huge rush and after the early risers. We chatted for a bit under the canopy in the cement courtyard and the time went by quickly until our name was called. There were plenty of places for waiting people to sit, and there was even a basket of toys for fidgety young children.

The menu, which is fairly concise, has more satisfying choices than a typical diner; for example, there were several creative varieties of frittatas to choose from. The food was on the slow side coming out, but with a constantly packed house on the weekends, this was understandable. Everything looked to be extremely fresh and made from scratch — no unfreezing and nuking here. Our server was attentive to coffee and water levels throughout the wait and the meal.

Picky had the Bayou Fritatta, which was special for the day. It consisted of pan fried andouille sausage, crab meat, potatoes and onions. It came with an enormous buttermilk biscuit, which was really good, especially the crumbly top. Also accompanying the frittata was a solid helping of tasty, nicely cooked red potatoes. Picky has since decided that fritattas aren't his favorite thing for breakfast/brunch — having nothing to do with the quality at Morning Glory, it's just not for him. Next time, he'll order one of those tasty looking sandwiches or get some eggs any style.

Messy has to be honest. The aromas in this restaurant made her want to eat bacon. She had originally planned to order an egg sandwich on focaccia bread, but one of the specials caught her eye. After much hemming and hawing and a little bit of peer pressure, Messy fell off the wagon and ordered the 9th Street Special with turkey bacon. Messy has no regrets because the sandwich, which consisted of a fried egg, garlicky sauteed spinach, provolone cheese and [turkey] bacon on focaccia bread was outstanding. It also came with red potatoes, and the serving was too big for Messy to finish. We both tried the homemade ketchup, which was served in a wine bottle. Messy found it to be too thin and vinegary, she wanted something thicker to glob on her potatoes. Picky, who prefers hot sauce on his breakfast foods, found that the selection wasn't great. There was only a papaya-based sweet/mild one and the omnipresent Vietnamese red-rooster emblazoned one. [Picky likes habañero hot sauce with his eggs.]

We sat by the west-facing window where all the awards from the last decade or so are up. City's Best, Best of Philly, Zagat's. . . This place has weathered the critical Philly crowd and deservingly picked up prizes along the way. It didn't live up to the insane hype we'd previously heard of, but still a very solid brunch. Also, there was a friendly note on the menu to please be mindful of the people waiting and leave promptly. Messy actually prefers eating at a less in-demand place where there is no rush to leave the table so she can keep refilling her coffee and flapping her gums. Perhaps a weekday visit would allow for more time to linger.

Messy ***1/2
Picky ***1/2

The final word: A very yummy breakfast, but not quite up to the hype.

735 S. 10th St @ Fitzwater St
Philadelphia, PA 19147-2741
(215) 413-3999

Tu – Fri: 7am – 4pm & 6pm – 10pm
Sat – Sun: 8am – 3pm